I was given a 1992 F150. It was my wife’s grandfather’s. It’s a single cab automatic transmission with the 4.9L straight 6. It had 138,000 miles on it when I got it and it’s about to roll over to 140,000. I’ve had to put in a new battery and water pump, and the A/C is not blowing cold. But other than that it seems to be running fine. Not being very mechanically minded, I was wondering is there anything maintenance wise I need to look into for a truck of this age?
Thanks a lot,
Adam (from Louisiana)
@ajkweez
That's a fairly basic and bullet proof truck, keep the oil changed and take it easy on the old girl cause if the tranny goes prob not worth replacing. I still see the early 90s ford's on the road daily and that's cause they were building them right then. You got yourself a good knock around truck for the trash days.
At that age, I'd be thinking Rubber Parts and Rust.
Do you live somewhere with 4 seasons? Rust is the number one enemy of 150's.
Stuff like serpentine belt, might've been replaced. Alternator's on the 150 were weak for a long time. My FIL has a 99 150, and we've gone through 1, and the belts.
If you live somewhere hot, I'd spring for a coolant change - and maybe watch that Scotty video on how to test for Radiator leakage.
92 150 with some TLC can keep running, it's a good truck.
@hellocivicbyecavalier
I live in Louisiana. We have Summer, Fall, and Slightly Cooler Fall. Now that you mentioned the alternator, I remember I did end up replacing it. Her grandfather had apparently replaced it before and kept the receipt from NAPA. It was only putting out 10.5vdc under load and the receipt said it had a lifetime warranty, so I got a free new alternator. There’s some rust around the door window frames but not much. I haven’t thought to look underneath at the frame though. I’ll check it out
cool good luck 🙂 hopefully your interior isnt full of cigarette ash like my FIL's lol. Other thing you want to listen for is chugging at low speed on the wheel bearings. If you drive 10-20 mph, and you notice chugg chugg chugg, probably need new bearings. I'd check around the rubber gasket's on the T-Rods just to see if the bearing leaked all their grease too! GM from that time are always losing their CV joint grease. If you see a lot of yellow heat discoloration on silver steel rims, you might need to check if something is causing a lot of heat on, you'll smell a seized caliper prob too after a 10min ride
The 300ci I6 (4.9l) is one of the best if not the best engine Ford has ever made (mine has 190,000mi on it). So the engine should need very little (other than oil changes and standard wear parts (starter, alternator, sparkplugs, ect)). Rust is the main killer for older trucks (like mine). Just keep the frame/body painted and sealed with a good rust inhibitor/wax and it should stop the majority of the rust.
